Labor union protests remote-control use by nonengineers

06/21/02

By Jaquetta White
Business writer/The Times-Picayune

A labor union representing train engineers is trying to put the brakes on the use of pilotless remote-controlled trains guided by nonengineers for major railroad companies in New Orleans and nationwide.

The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers, or BLE, has staged informational pickets across the country to protest the remote-controlled guidance of unmanned trains in the switchyards of Class I railroad companies, including CSX Transportation Co. and Union Pacific Railroad Co.

CSX began using the technology in January. Union Pacific started in early April. The remote control, which is held by an employee on the ground and communicates with a receiver in the train's cab, is not being used outside switchyards. And neither CSX nor Union Pacific has made plans to use the device on railways.

CSX has been using remote controls in its Gentilly shipyard, without incident, since May 17, company spokesman Gary Sease said. Union Pacific is not yet using the controls in Louisiana, said John Bromley, director of public affairs for Union Pacific. He does not know when the technology will reach this area.

"The reason we went to remote control is there were many proven benefits," Sease said. "Canadian railways had used it safely for a long time."

The BLE's opposition is not to the use of remote-controlled trains, but to the operators of those controls.

"We're opposed to the railroad's decision to let folks other than locomotive engineers use the remote-control equipment," BLE spokesman John Bentley said. "We think that the engineer is the most-qualified and the most-trained crew worker, and for safety reasons he should be the one operating the equipment."

A locomotive engineer is the lead operator in a train crew, which also includes a conductor and trainman, Sease said. Locomotive engineers operate the train's throttle and brake from inside of the cab. Conductors are in charge of the train's work orders and management. They also can perform ground duties.

Trainmen, also called field brakemen, perform work at the direction of the conductor. They usually do utility work.

Although the amount of pay for each position depends on the company, pay for locomotive engineers is usually higher than that of conductors and trainmen -- with trainmen making the least of the three, Sease said.

According to the CSX Web site, any employee, including locomotive engineers, who uses remote control technology must undergo an 80-hour training session and be certified to use remote-control technology. Union Pacific has a similar training program. Both CSX and Union Pacific conduct classroom and field training.

But that training alone is not enough, said Gary Perrien, a 28-year locomotive engineer and vice chairman of BLE for the Union Pacific's Southern Region.

"I'm not saying that the remote-control technology will work any better in my hand than in a trainman's. But with my experience, I would be able to solve problems better," Perrien said. "We're not trying to run away from the technology; we embrace the technology. We're just saying that someone more experienced should be running it."

But, Sease said, remote-control operators, who are mostly conductors and trainmen, are "fully qualified." And the use of a remote control is not an issue of seniority but a proven, safe technological advancement that any trained person can operate.

"It eliminates the chance for miscommunication. Without the use of a remote control, an employee on the ground uses radio and hand signals to communicate with someone in the cab," he said, adding that the remote controls also have built-in safety devices.

"If an employee happens to get sick or faint, it would automatically shut off the locomotive," Sease said.

The use of the remote control has not come without glitches. Accidents have occurred involving remote-controlled trains in the shipyards of both CSX and Union Pacific. According to Sease and Bromley, accidents at CSX and Union Pacific were not caused by remote-control failure.

Though Bentley knows of at least 60 locomotive engineering jobs that have been eliminated because of the use of remote controls, he is not immediately concerned about jobs for engineers.

"I think the remote control has limited use. The scope is limited to certain operations," he said. "The craft is secure, but it is being threatened."

CSX has offered accelerated retirement to engineers whose jobs have been affected by the use of the remote control. Union Pacific has moved some displaced engineers to cities that have a shortage of engineers.

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Staff writer Jaquetta White can be reached at jwhite@timespicayune.com or (504) 826-3315.